H.S. boys basketball: Eastside gets top seed, DePaul next in Passaic

If DePaul and Eastside can win three games apiece in the upcoming Passaic boys basketball tournament, the Spartans will get another shot at the Ghosts in the final.

Eastside, which defeated DePaul in the county final last year, was seeded No. 1 in the tournament Wednesday night by Passaic coaches during a meeting at Eastern Christian. The coaches seeded DePaul second.

"This core of kids that are back from last year’s team — and primarily I’m talking about Josh [Marquez], Juwuan [Carter] and Sanders [Green] — that’s kind of been something that’s been on their minds all off-season," DePaul coach Ryan Hagen said Wednesday night regarding Eastside’s 61-41 win in the 2012 Passaic County final.

"They would love the opportunity to reach the county final. But we know that in any county tournament or any tournament in general, no matter what the level is, there are no guarantees. Just because you’re in the finals one year, doesn’t mean you’re going to be back in the finals the following year."

DePaul (12-3), ranked No. 5 in The Record Top 25, will play 15th-seeded Eastern Christian (4-8) in the first round Feb. 2 in Wayne. Third-ranked Eastside (12-1) will face 16th-seeded Hawthorne (3-7) in the first round Feb. 2 in Paterson.

Eastside has lost only to top-ranked Teaneck this season, but DePaul tested Eastside before falling, 74-69, on Saturday in Wayne.

"It’s definitely motivating to them, knowing that the game against Eastside was a good game, a back-and-forth game that went down to the last couple possessions," Hagen said.